The St. Louis Blues and Jay Bouwmeester inked a one-year deal at $3.25 million earlier this year. Bouwmeester was the epitome of the Blues’ 2018-19 season.
Jay Bouwmeester was referred to as Blowmeester by some fans, including this one, at the beginning of the St. Louis Blues’ 2018-19 season. However, he served me up some gladly eaten crow over the second half of the fantastic turn-around season for the Blues!
Make no mistake, Bouwmeester was not even a shell of himself in the early part of the season. At one point, I swear he was the leading goal scorer for the opposition!
That may just be my terrible memory or my overly dramatic perception, nonetheless, Bouwmeester struggled. As JayBo struggled, so did the Blues as a team.
I can’t recall a time as a Blues fan where I was so vehemently against a player being in the lineup. The Blues were a wreck at the beginning of the season and Bouwmeester was the microcosm of that season.
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I have to, out of good conscience, sincerely apologize to Bouwmeester. I owe that. JayBo was clearly still dealing with the hip at the start of the season. He was moving like any man would post-hip surgery.
Like many ignorant fans, I jumped on the JayBlo bashing train and said, “If the team cleared him to play, then he is good to go. With that in mind and the performance, he’s done! Trade him. Cut him. Just don’t suit him up anymore!”
I don’t like to admit when I’m wrong, but I was wrong. Bouwmeester, like the Blues, turned me over on my head and I was caught talking from my rear end. Bouwmeester did what JayBo does in the second half as well as throughout the playoffs. That is shut down the other team’s top lines.
Bouwmeester was a 3rd overall pick in the 2002 draft by Florida. He has been one of the most durable defensemen in NHL history and he logs big minutes against big opposition.
He is not a flashy Erik Karlsson type D-man. He is your prototypical stay at home, shut down guy. He won’t dazzle with his shot, but he keeps the opposition off the board when he is healthy. Healthy was something he finally seemed to be when the calendar turned 2019.
Bouwmeester had a time when he was in Florida with the Panthers where he was manning the power play and managed to get over the 40 point threshold in nearly four straight seasons from 2005-09.
We won’t see that from him again. No apologies for that one, it’s just the facts. JayBo, if you’re reading this, I hope you smiled and rolled your eyes.
I love the signing by Army to bring Bouwmeester back for another season. I think $3.25 million is well earned and deserved since he was a gigantic reason the Blues went all the way.
Without him, we don’t get to free up Petro or Dunn like we were able to. JayBo along with Larry Robinson, I believe, were key to the development of Colton Parayko as a defender.
Enough reminiscing though. That season is over and apologies have been made.
Now, what can we expect from JayBo in 2019-20? Simple answer. A shutdown defender that, at age 36, can still skate with the best of the NHL today.
We get a returning partner for Parayko and a guy that can ease the responsibility off of Pietrangelo to free him up offensively.
Statistically, since 2013, Bouwmeester has been hovering around the 15-point mark. I’d expect the same from him in 2019-20, barring an injury like he had in 2017-18 where he only posted seven points in 35 games. The Blues may have some teams sniffing around for him if, for some reason, they become sellers prior to the trade deadline.
Jay Bouwmeester became just the 29th player to win a Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal and a World Championship. Who doesn’t want that kind of pedigree on their bench when they enter the gauntlet of the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
I am grateful to have JayBo back and, hopefully, playing alongside Parayko. That defensive pair was superb in the playoffs! They were imposing defenders that just shut you down and spur the transition game. That allowed the forwards some confidence to make a play offensively from time to time knowing those two were there to clean up any mistakes.